Lantern Shade, Californian Jonathan Foster's fifth, independently released, studio CD is a beauty.
The press release aptly states "the album steers towards the rock side of modern folk music," meaning Foster is more of a singer-songwriter than a folky, and that's a good thing. It makes his work more accessible without sacrificing the contemplative, lyrical aspects of folk.
A hallmark of all excellent singer-songwriters is that they avoid superficiality and Foster is no exception. While thoughtfulness is still needed to fully absorb his introspective songs they avoid the head scratching opaqueness that often pushes some music fans away from the genre.
"Alpine Line" is one of the set's fun tracks. It's a welcome contrast when placed next to "The Beast," a social commentary piece minus the preachiness that often accompanies songs of this type. The catchy "Where We Belong" - a favorite of Foster's - is an upbeat celebration of life. So is "May Our Paths Cross Again" and let's not forget the instantly memorable single that opens the album, "Stardust Saltwater."
Foster's appealing voice is quite appropriate for the kind of music he makes and he also possesses the ability to write melodies that stay with you long after the album is over.
Foster plays acoustic and electric guitars, woodwinds and percussion. Co-producing the record with him is Bruce Turgon who adds bass, 12-string guitar, organ, piano and mandolin. The drummer and percussionist is Joe Misztal. Morgan Hannaford plays mandolin on "Where We Belong." Despite working with such a small group Foster and Turgon's productions sound bigger than the band's size would indicate while never adding more to a song than what is absolutely necessary.
Not only is Lantern Shade one of the best records I've heard from an up-and-coming artist recently it also ranks with the best work I've heard from anyone so far this year.
Have you ever heard of a long forgotten vinyl format, the 16 2/3 RPM record? They were half the speed of the 33 1/3 RPM albums that were the traditional standard for recorded music. Most record players in the 1950s and 1960s came with a speed setting to play these long forgotten discs that were considered novelties even during the years they were available. Because most, but not all, 16s had big holes and were 7" in diameter many of them were mistaken for 45 RPMs and at that size the speed allowed for up to 20 minutes of playing time per side. However, there was no true standard size and they were also manufactured to be 9, 10, or 12 inches in diameter, and these larger records played even longer. Just like the other speeds and formats 16s could be played one record at a time or stacked on a changer for continuous play. Radio stations often used the discs for pre-recorded radio shows containing interviews, dramas, and documentaries. More frequen...
Today we're going to find out why 45 RPM records have much larger holes than 78s and 33s. Believe it or not I often wondered about this burning question when I was collecting hundreds of these little seven inch gems back the 1960s. According to several websites, including Answerbag , the reason for the large hole used by 45s was simple. It was difficult for the old 78s, with their smaller holes, to find their way onto jukebox spindles. The large hole effectively eliminated that problem. Strangely, seven inch 45s were often pressed with the smaller holes used for LPs in many countries outside the United States, especially in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Overseas the inserts (commonly know as spiders) were manufactured into the large holes at the factories but they could be punched out if desired. The Beatles' British single of "Love Me Do," pictured here, is a typical example. Why were the spiders built into English 45s? I was unable to fi...
I recently paid a visit to a blog that I read regularly published by my British cyber-buddy, Martin Warminger. At his site, Music Obsessive , he just listed what are, in his opinion, the worst Beatles songs of all time . It's an idea I wanted to steal, and I could come up with a short but bad list, but for the sake of originality I decided to do something completely different instead. So, here is a list of ten songs by my all-time favorite band that deserve a better place in the annals of Beatles history. Most of them are only known by their hardcore fans. Here they are in chronological order. You can listen to a few of the rarer ones below. 1. I'll Be On My Way The only known recorded version of this very early, 1963, Lennon-McCartney ditty appears on Live at The BBC . The Beatles never put it on vinyl. Yes, it's simplistic and the lyrics even have the audacity to rhyme the word "moon" with "June." However, the song has one of those undeni...
Thank you so much for you articulation and kindness Charlie, I am honored and humbled - In music, JF
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